Reclaiming Stockport’s Cattle Market ………… with lots of help from Bill Sumner

Now yesterday I explored the story of Stockport’s Cattle Market, which I found quite by chance on the 1906 OS map of Cheshire.*

1906

It stood in a pocket of land bordered on one side by Great Portwood Street, and the River Goyt and backed on to the Gas Works.

Today it is the retail park, which includes Matalan, Boots, Next and plenty of other High Street names.

But as for the cattle market I found nothing to tell me when it was opened, and when it closed.

Leaving me just to make the appeal, and within hours Bill Sumner came up with the deal.

The area according to one source had been a reservoir with the original cattle market had been sited on Castle Yard which had attracted the interest of the both the Romans and the Normans, both of whom added fortifications to the site.

In the 18th century Sir George Warren as lord of the manor levelled the land and built a circular brick turret, which was later demolished when the land was lowered in 1853 for the cattle market.**

This when it became unfit for purpose led to the move in 1879 to the Portwood site.

Bill also sent over four aerial pictures dating from the 1920s, into the 1940s, which add to the story.

And never one to lift other people’s research, here are the images along with what Bill wrote.***

1927

"This first one shows a mill to the right of St Mary's Church with its chimney hiding Millgate Bridge, the Cattle Market is the open ground on the other side of the river marked with a pink flag, there is a suggestion of some low buildings but the photo fades out. 

This is a blow up from Britain from Above -1927 St Mary's Church and the Unicorn Brewery Stockport 1927 EPW 019110.  

1931

This one shows St Mary's Church with the Stockport Electric Works (four chimneys) and the now enlarged Mill (1931) looking over the Cattle Market (flagged Pink) to the Gas Works. 

Image the Stockport Viaduct and the Town Stockport 1931 EPW036820 England(1931).  

I know this area now as the multi-unit shopping area next to Stockport's Asda.

1946

It is now 1946 and the Portwood Gas Works has spread over the entire site with a cooling tower where the Cattle Market used to be and a much-enlarged power station with huge single chimney obscuring St Mary's Church.

 Image EAW002109 England(1946) Portwood Gas Works and Environs Stockport 1946.

1946

This view shows St Mary's bottom right with the famous steps (Lowry?) leading down to the Power Station which has taken over that mill completely. 

The black objects next to the grey concrete cooling tower are wooden cooling towers with the gas works behind.  

Image EAW 002115 ENGLAND (1946) Portwood Gas Works and environs Stockport 1946".

To which, Dave from Marple has added, "I worked for Northwest Gas at the Portwood site from 1975 till the late 80s when the new development took place. 

The site of the cattle market had up until the early 80s been occupied by Norweb, the electricity supply company. I have always known it was the site of an earlier cattle market as I recall there being a sign on one of the gates into the site identifying that it had been the site of a cattle market".

Research; Bill Sumner, with a contribution from Dave from Marple.

Pictures; The Cattle Market site, 1927,-1946, 1927 EPW 019110, 1931 EPW036820. 1946 EAW002109, 1946, EAW 002115, and in 1906, from the OS map of Cheshire, 1906, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://digitalarchives.co.uk/

*On discovering Stockport’s own Cattle Market, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2020/06/on-discovering-stockports-own-cattle.html

**Stockport A Pictorial History, Roy West, 2009, & 2013

***Britain From Above, https://britainfromabove.org.uk/

At that cinema of dreams in Stockport waiting to watch the big film

Now I wish I had caught a film at the Plaza in Stockport, not so much for the film but for the experience of being in one of those sumptuous old fashioned picture palaces.

It opened as the Plaza Super Cinema and Variety Theatre in 1932 and for the next 30 or so years it showed all the great films of the day, including Stockport’s first 3D presentation in 1954 and in the following year the first Cinemascope show.

Like many picture houses it suffered from declining cinema numbers and in 1966 closed opening the year after as a Bingo Hall.

As such it lasted marginally longer but not much and closed in 1999.

And here it could have been the victim of commercial redevelopment but instead was bought by the Stockport Plaza Trust as a venue for live shows and films.

I rather think Peter’s painting captures well this majestic building, but for anyone in love with cinemas of the period I suggest you go along and see for yourself and having got to Mersey Square, ask to go inside.

Since it was taken over there has been extensive restoration to what is now a listed building and what’s more there will often be a uniformed guide decked out just as he or she would have been in 1933.

Now that can’t be bad.

Painting; Plaza Stockport, 2015 © Peter Topping, Paintings from Pictures,
Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk
Facebook:  Paintings from Pictures

A little bit of Millgate in Stockport ……….

Now, strip away the modern streetlamps, along with the sign announcing parking restrictions, and represent Andy’s picture in black and white, and I rather think this view of Millgate could pass for any time before now.

Millgate, 2020

Which I suppose says a lot for this bit of Stockport.

In time I will see if I can track down any of the residents at the beginning of the last century.

I know that in 1939, there were fifteen properties listed along Millgate, of which three were unoccupied, and the remaining houses were home to a variety of occupations.

These included a “variety artist”, “shoe repairer”, “a secondhand clothing dealer”, an electrician, some textile workers and a “Railway goods Checker”.

Millgate, 1906

Of the seven in Andy’s picture, number 11, was home to Mr. and Mrs. Hall, he was our secondhand clothes dealer, his son was the shoe repairer, and his daughter described herself as “Paper Bay Maker – Heavy Work”. 

Numbers 7 and 9 were vacant and at number 5 were Charles and Laura Cowley.  Mr. Cowley was a “master decorator” and Mrs. Cowley listed herself as “Unpaid Domestic Duties”.

Location; Stockport

Picture; Millgate, 2020,  from the collection of Andy Robertson, and in 1906, from the OS map of Cheshire, 1906, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://digitalarchives.co.uk/

At the Stockport Plaza

Now I stumbled across that hidden gem which is The Stockport Plaza.

We were out on a trip to the Hat Museum* and as you having done hats wandered off past Mersey Square up to the covered in market when we passed the open doors of the Plaza.

And quick as a flash I asked the attendant all dressed out in his uniform if we could look inside.
It is  place I have often passed but never been in and I have to say that was my loss.

The Plaza Super Cinema and Variety Theatre was opened in 1933 and for the next 30 or so year it showed all the great films of the day, including Stockport’s first 3D presentation in 1954 and in the following year the first Cinemascope show.

Like many picture houses it suffered from declining cinema numbers  and in 1966 closed opening the year alter as a Bingo Hall.

As such it lasted marginally longer but not much and closed in 1999.

And here it could have been the victim of commercial redevelopment but instead was bought by the Stockport Plaza Trust as avenue for live shows and films.

Since then there has been extensive restoration to what is now a listed building and what they have done has to be seen.

Sadly my camera had decided to run out of battery which meant that I could not capture any of the grand interior including the impressive organ.

But my old pal Graham Hill sent me the images of the Plaza today along with some interior photographs from the 1930s, along with a wonderful short film A Visit to the Stockport Plaza.**

*The not so nice side of hat making at the Stockport Hat Works Museum  http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/the-not-so-nice-side-of-hat-making-at.html
**The Plaza Stockport, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izc1FeA2nw0&feature=share

Pictures; from the collection Graham Gill